


Single Dad AU

by MirasMirages



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adoption, Christmas, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:22:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirasMirages/pseuds/MirasMirages
Summary: Henry visits the Campbells on Christmas Day. He's not prepared for his present.





	Single Dad AU

**Author's Note:**

> Characters:  
> Henry - man with too many guns  
> Maya - Henry's best friend, shady café owner  
> Aaron - Maya's husband, stay-at-home father  
> Gavin - Maya and Aaron's 5-year-old  
> Leo - Maya and Aaron's 3-year-old  
> Girl/Valerie - 8-year-old trafficing victim who deserves everything good

“Uncle Henry!”

“Hey, buddy!” Henry said, leaning down to pick up Gavin who came running towards him. “Merry Christmas! Did you have fun last night?”

Gavin giggled and nodded. “We have presents,” he told Henry.

“I know,” Henry told him, handing the bag he’d brought to Maya, Gavin’s mother and Henry’s closest friend. “I brought presents too. Are you excited?”

Gavin was very obviously excited, bouncing on Henry’s arm. 

Maya ruffled Gavin’s hair. “Let’s go to the living room,” she suggested.

Henry followed her, nodding in greeting to her husband, Aaron, who was setting out breakfast on the couch table. Leo, Gavin’s little brother, was on the couch and held his arms out for Henry, so he went over to pick up the three-year-old too, swinging both the kids around to their delight.

Maya smiled at them. “Settle down, now. We’ll have breakfast, and then we can open presents, right?”

After swinging them around one more time, Henry put the kids down and went to sit down, letting Leo climb onto his lap.

Seeing Maya step into her role as a mother was fascinating for Henry. He was used to seeing her at work, or in more formal settings, not while she was arguing with her five-year-old over whether it was okay to open presents before breakfast or not.

Henry felt a bit out of place in such a homely setting, but it was nice. They had breakfast and then watched the kids open their presents. It was hard not to laugh at Gavin trying not to look too disappointed when he opened another gift containing clothes. The sweater probably cost a small fortune, but the five-year-old didn’t seem to appreciate it. The toys from Henry were met with a lot more enthusiasm.

“I wanna use it now!” Gavin said, bringing the electronic piano mat to his dad, who helped him get it set up. While the kids were playing, Maya and Aaron opened their gifts from Henry. A pair of expensive earrings for Maya that she would never wear, and an expensive tie for Aaron that he would never wear. They could afford to buy whatever they wanted, these gifts were all about appearances, about politeness, which meant Henry was a little surprised he hadn’t received anything when all the packages were gone from under the tree. Not that he said anything, of course.

Leo was still jumping on the piano mat when Gavin came over to Maya. “Can we give Uncle Henry the gift now?” he whispered, loud enough for all the adults in the room to hear it.

“Do you think we should?” Maya asked him, and turned to Henry. “What do you say, do you want it now?”

“And here I thought I wasn’t getting anything,” Henry joked. “Did you forget to put it under the tree?”

Maya rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and left the room.

Gavin climbed up next to Henry on the couch, watching him, and Aaron picked up Leo, the room going quiet. Henry wasn’t sure what to make of it - they were all acting like this was a big deal.

A minute later Maya came back, bringing a small, brown-haired girl. Henry gave Maya a questioning look, then looked at the girl. Her face was clean and her hair was brushed, pulled away from her face by a headband. In the white shirt and golden dress, she looked like any other kid dressed up for the holidays. As recognition pulled at Henry’s mind, he shook his head. It couldn’t be.

It had been a year and a half since Henry was called into work late one night to an absolute bloodbath. What was meant to be a simple clean up job after an overnight casino had turned out to be a lot more than the client had paid for, and among the several bodies left behind was one still breathing. Henry had wrapped the girl up in his coat and rushed her to Maya’s place, not knowing what to do with her. She was cold and dirty, and it was a miracle she survived. Henry had contacted her owners and arranged for her return before he realized what a mistake he was making, what he was sending her back to. How this choice would haunt him. If he was reading this right - Maya had found the girl again and- and, what, adopted her? That was more than Henry would ever have expected. He was hiding the emotions rushing through him as Maya brought the girl closer to him.

“Sweetheart, I want you to meet your new dad," Maya said when the girl was right in front of him.

Wait.

"What?” He looked at Maya, who raised an eyebrow.

“She doesn’t have a name yet, but I’m sure you can come up with something,” she said, instead of answering any of the half-formed questions inside Henry fighting to get out.

“Wha- no, wait, Maya, no,” Henry said, standing up. “No, no, Maya, you know my life, you know I can’t- I can’t have a child!”

“You know my life, and I have two,” she shot back.

“And a husband to take care of them!”

Maya sighed. “Look. I found her a few days ago and thought you’d want her out. If I’m wrong then you can return her. I’m sure they’ll buy her back, or give you someone else if you’d like.” She knew very well he would not like that.

“I can’t- you can’t mean- we can’t send her _back_ there,” Henry said, struggling to take in the horror of Maya’s suggestion. The girl looked barely older than Gavin, there was no way Maya would be okay with that.

“Then you’ll take her,” Maya said, ignoring Henry’s look of outrage. “If you don’t take her then I’ll return her. It’s up to you.” She put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down on the couch so he was face to face with the girl who stared straight ahead with a blank expression on her face. “She doesn’t talk. I’m not sure if that’ll change,” she said softly.

Henry looked at the girl and lifted a hand to touch her face. She was eerily still, and yet she looked a lot better than the last time he’d seen her. There was no way he could send her back again. “Do you know how old she is?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the girl.

“About eight, but we don’t know her birthday.”

Henry looked up at Maya. “I thought eight-year-olds were bigger,” he said.

She nodded. “They usually are. She hasn’t been fed enough for a long time.”

Henry looked back at the girl, trying to push down the protective fury rising in him. He wanted to find every person who’d hurt this girl and show them his gun collection and what he could do with it. Make it slow. Make them suffer as much as she had.

“So?” Maya said, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Should I send her back?”

He shook his head. “No. No, I’ll, I’ll figure something out,” he said. He could find someone who would take her, make sure her life would be better from now on. That didn’t mean he had to do it himself.

Maya had the girl sit next to Henry and eat a piece of toast, and Henry could barely take his eyes off her. One and a half years. How much had she suffered because of him? Thinking about it made him feel sick.

Not that much later, Aaron went to get the kids ready to leave. They were going to his family for lunch, which meant Henry had to go home, and figure out what to do with the girl.

When they were about to leave, Gavin went up to the girl and held something out to her. Henry recognized the old plush bunny Gavin had had for years. When the girl didn’t move, Gavin took her hand and made her take the bunny, then looked up at Henry. “You have to be nice to her,” he said seriously. “She’s my friend and you can’t be mean to her!”

Henry smiled at him and crouched down so they were at eye level. “Of course not,” he said. “Have I ever been mean to anyone?”

Gavin gave him a considering look before he shook his head and let Henry hug him goodbye.

Maya handed Henry a duffel bag with some things for the girl before they left. He felt oddly lost as he took her to his car and secured the seatbelt for her. What was he supposed to do with her now?

*

He parked the car after a quiet drive home and looked at the girl. She didn’t look at him.

“Is it true you don’t have a name?” Henry asked. She didn’t respond. He gently touched her face to turn her towards him. “Hey, look at me. What’s your name?”

The girl looked at him with tired eyes. “Anything you want, Mister,” she whispered.

Oh, jesus.

Henry rubbed a hand over his face. This was so much more than he was equipped to handle.

“Is… is there any name _you_ want?” he asked.

The girl didn’t respond again.

Henry racked his brain, trying to come up with a girl’s name. Was this even okay? To just make up a name for her?

“How about, um, Valerie?” The suggestion was out of his mouth before he could think about it. That had been his mother’s name.

The girl nodded and went back to staring straight ahead. Henry sighed and waited to see if she would do anything else.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

No response.

“Okay, well… I guess you’re Valerie for now,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Let’s go inside.”

The girl- Valerie- kept perfectly at his side as he walked, never running ahead or lagging behind. It was unnerving. They took the elevator to the second floor and Henry knocked on one of the doors there.

“Henry, how nice to see you,” Maria smiled at him, and then she saw the girl. “Oh, hello, sweetie. What’s your name?”

There was a pause, just too long, before the girl whispered, “Valerie,” glancing up at Henry to make sure it was right before looking back down.

“I need a favor,” Henry said, handing Maria the duffel bag. “Can you babysit for a day or two?” He stepped back before Maria had even had time to respond.

“Oh, of course, Henry, but- what’s going on?”

Henry shook his head. “We’ll talk later. I need to- I’ll talk to you later.” He went back to the elevator and up to his apartment, leaving Maria alone with the girl. When he got in, he went straight for the kitchen and poured himself a whiskey. This was too much to deal with sober. What was he supposed to do with the girl now?

Maybe Maria could take her. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Maria had lost contact with her own adult children, and Henry knew that was a big sorrow for her. He looked at the door to the cupboard and poured another whiskey. He didn’t have room for a child, he told himself. He had the entire top floor to himself, and Maria had a one bedroom apartment she shared with her husband. Maybe Henry could get them a bigger apartment. That would mean they had to move out. He didn’t want them to move.

He was halfway drunk when Maria knocked on the door and let herself in, a serious look on her face. She took the glass from him and sat down beside him.

“Who is she?” she asked.

Henry groaned and buried his face in his hands as he began to explain, trying to downplay his own involvement in the girl being sent back last year. He suspected he didn’t do a great job.

“Maya wants me to adopt her,” he finished, looking to Maria as if she’d have the answer. She put a hand on his shoulder, but didn’t smile.

“Having a child is a big responsibility,” she said, a serious tone in her voice. “She’s been through a lot. Don’t do this if you’re not ready for your life to change completely.”

Of course he knew that. He was in no way fit to be a parent. He drank too much and went home with someone new every week. Of course he couldn’t have a child. He would be a worse dad than his own.

“I mean it, Henry,” Maria said. “You need to think about this carefully before you decide.”

He’d already decided. He wouldn’t take the girl.

After Maria left he had another drink. He looked at the door to the cupboard. On the other side of the wall was his gym. His gym didn’t need to be there. He was very drunk by the time he picked up his phone and made a few calls.

*

It took just over two days. The first day Henry had had a bad hangover and stayed in his room as workers came to knock down the walls of the cupboard and close up the door to what used to be his gym. The next day his entire apartment smelled like paint and wood, and having people around was getting on his nerves. Late in the morning of the third day the interior designer brought him into the room to show him around.

It was very… pink. White and pink and frilly, looking like a showcase. A doll’s house. Hopefully the girl would like it. There was a bed with delicate white sheets and a huge white teddy bear. A chest of drawers and a closet, both white. A rocking horse. A bookshelf with a couple of impressive looking books, fairy tales, and several sparkly toys that looked too expensive to play with, and nothing like what he’d seen in toy stores. It was picture perfect, and looked as expensive as it had been. It was good, he told himself as he thanked the designer and breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally alone in his apartment.

Now he just had to go get the girl. Valerie.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Find me on Tumblr ](https://whumpymirages.tumblr.com/)


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